Machine for the automatic continuous manufacture of reinforcements

ABSTRACT

A machine for automatically and continuously manufacturing reinforcements comprising longitudinal metal members connected by at least one transverse member and comprising a cylindrical bearing mounted on the machine frame and rotatably mounting a drum which carries the transverse member and a wire guide. The drum and wire guide are rotatable about the same axis. The machine also includes devices for drawing the longitudinal members off a store and devices including barrels for moving them parallel to said axis in the direction of the drum. Control means is provided for correlating movement of the longitudinal members with drum rotation to produce a helical binding of the transverse members about the longitudinal members.

United States Patent Debry July 31, 1973 [54] MACHINE FOR THE AUTOMATIC 2,910,822 11/1959 Bunch 57/18 ONTIN S MANUFACTURE OF 302,461 7/1884 Worcester 242/170 REINFORCEMENTS Maurice E. Debry, 25-33, rue de la Paix, Vincennes, France Filed: July 1, 1971 Appl. No.: 158,708

Inventor:

Foreign Application Priority Data July 2, 1970 France 7024515 June 2, 1971 France 7120014 US. Cl 140/71 R, 140/112, 219/56 Int. Cl 1121f 27/10 Field of Search 140/71, 112; 219/56;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1966 Olivier et a1. 140/112 Primary ExaminerLowell A. Larson Attorney-Eyre, Mann & Lucas [57] ABSTRACT A machine for automatically and continuously manufacturing reinforcements comprising longitudinal metal members connected by at least one transverse member and comprising a cylindrical bearing mounted on the machine frame and rotatably mounting a drum which carries the transverse member and a wire guide. The drum and wire guide are rotatable about the same axis.

' The machine also includes devices for drawing the longitudinal members off a store and devices including barrels for moving them parallel to said axis in the direction of the drum. Control means is provided for correlating movement of the longitudinal members with drum rotation to produce a helical binding of the transverse members about the longitudinal members.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures Patented July 31, 1973 I 3,749,140

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor nnumce E. DEER A llorney Patentd July 31, 1973 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 m9 mm Q y ms Inventor MWMLE E- Oil-m9 er ,Wlmw-Jlm Allorney Patented July 3111973 3,749,140

3 S h eets-Sheet 5 I v I nvcnlor nnumce 1. Di

z M-M W 1 A Home y MACHINE FOR THE AUTOMATIC CONTINUOUS MANUFACTURE OF REINFORCEMENTS This invention relates to a machine for automatically and continuously manufacturing reinforcements.

Reinforcements, in particular for reinforced concrete, are generally constituted by longitudinal parallel members, arranged either in flat sheets, or according to any desired configuration, such as triangular or quadrilateral, which are spaced apart by transverse members, of lesser section than the longitudinal members, to which they are preferably bound or welded. These transverse members, moreover, ensure the resistance of the reinforced concrete to shearing forces. These transverse members are constituted, according to each case, either by rods which are welded to the longitudinal members, or by straps or pins, flat or deformed in two planes forming between them a pre-determinedangle, which are' welded or bound to the longitudinal members, by one or more continuous, appropriately bent, wires, then welded or bound to the longitudinal members.

Machines are already known'for the manufacture of reinforcements constitued by longitudinal members connected by transverse members. However, it must be stated that, until now, such machines were provided,

is retractable relative to the inner bore for pivoting of the bobbin, and is-advantageously pivotally mounted on its support.

It may be preferable to provide an additional rotational drive member, which can be coupled to the drum, the direction of the second rotation corresponding tothe initial winding on the drum of the said wire, of which the transverse membersconnected to the longitudinalmembers are constituted.

In this case, the additional rotational drive member, may comprise a pulley integral with the drum and coupled=by abelt to an-auxiliary drive motor.

ln the'case of a drum with an external winding, the

latter is advantageously loosely mounted to rotate on cording to the invention;

for the transverse'members; withdrums located eccentrically relative to the axis of the machine, and due to this fact were simultaneously heavy, bulky, and required considerable power for their rotational drive.

It is an object of the invention to obviate or mitigate these disadvantages. For this purpose it is proposed, in particular, to provide a drum which is coaxial to barrels for guiding the longitudinal members. This allowsa considerable reduction in size relative to previous machines, a simultaneous reduction in the weight to be rotated, and finally, as adirect consequence, a substantial reduction in the power necessary for the drive.

The present invention is therefore, a machine for the automatic manufacture, in a continuous manner, of reinforcements constituted by longitudinal members connected by transverse members, this machine comprising a drum on which the transverse members are initially stored and a wire guide, the drum and the'wire guide being mounted to rotate on the frame of the machine and the wire guide being additionally coupled to a first rotational drive member, means being provided for drawing off the longitudinal members from a store in which they are initially located and means being provided for the translational movement of the longitudinal members, parallel to a first axis, near to the drum,

comprising in particular guide barrels, the saidtranslation being established to correspond with the said rotation in such a way as to produce a substantially helical winding of the transverse members around the longitudinal members, the angle of the helix being'capable of being varied from reinforcement section to section as desired, the machine also comprising a cylindrical bearing integral with the frame, which is provided with guide barrels for the longitudinal members, and coaxial to which are rotatably mounted the drum and the-wire guide, the drum being mounted around the said bearmg.

ln a first embodiment, the drum has an internal winding and is coupled to a second rotational drive member.

In a second embodiment, the drum is constituted by a bobbin with an external winding, while the wire guide FIG. 2 is a part-sectional elevation of a modified machine according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a-partial view in the direction of arrow F of FIG. 2; and V FIGS. 4' to 7 are perspective views of several reinforcements which can be made by machines according to the invention.

In FIG. 1, the machine is arranged'for the manufacture of a'reinforcement, the longitudinal members of which are constituted by two bars a and b and the transversemembers of which by a wire 0 which is bent over the longitudinal members and wound around these members so as to constitute a helical winding with flattened turns, and the pitch of which is either regular or irregular.

A rigidframe ll,supports, in an overhanging manner, a cylinder 12 suitably machined for receiving, on the one hand, a ring 13 provided with a pivoted wire guide 14 and, on the other hand, concentric to the ring 13, a drum 15, provided with the supply of wire 0.

The ring 13 and the drum [5 are rotated, each by a variable speed motor unit l6, l7. Secured to the inside of the cylinder 12 are two sliding barrels 18, 18a according to the section to be obtained and these serve for the passage and as a guide for the bars a and b delivered from a drum 19. At the outlet ofthe drum 19, the bars a and b, located in a parallel manner, are gripped and'pushed towards the operating region of the drum by means of carriages 21, 21a moved by jacks 22, 22a. These carriages, which displace on barrels 23, 23a, through which the bars pass, are provided with a gripper system 24, 24a. r

The'translation movements of the carriages, 21, Zla, and those conferred on the gripper systems, 24, 24a are obtained, in the present embodiment, by a controlling device 25, synchronous with the drum l5 and acting on valves 26 supplying the jacks 22, 22a and the jacks of the gripper systems 24, 24a.

On the side of the machine, opposite to the drumguide assembly for the bars a, b, there is provided a spot weldingmachine, located on the axis of the cylinder 12. 1t isconstituted by a plurality of welding devices 27, 27a, arranged in accordance with the reinforcement section to be produced, on chariots28, 280, coupled to jacks 29, 29a, the assembly being supported by a frame 30. Thus the welding of the transverse members to the longitudinal members may be effected as the reinforcement is formed.

As regards the machine shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, this allows the use of bobbins of wire 101 of standardised dimension as the magazine for the transverse members. If the centre of these bobbins is too small, the wire is re-wound on the drum 102. l

The drum 102 is loosely mounted to rotate, by means of rollers, 103, and the ring 104, with which the support 105 of the wire guide 111 is integral. The ring 104 is coupled to a variable speed reduction unit by means of a chain wheell06 which is made integral with the ring 104 and the wire guide support 105 by the cross pieces 107. In order to use it as a winding machine, the drum 102 is provided with a trapezoidal groove G, which facilitates its drive solely by means of an auxiliary motor. In order to allow the positioning of standardized bobbins on the drum 102, the side 108 has a bayonet mounting and the curved guide 109 is pivotally mounted about the axis 110, according to the arrow H.

The guide 109 is associated with the wire guide 111, which includes a return roller 112. The ring 104 mounted on the loose rollers 113, is drivable in the direction of the arrow R. In addition, an adjustable brake 114 is mounted opposite the drum 102, with elastic friction on the pulley provided with the groove G.

It will be noted that the machine also comprises alignment devices with rollers 120 for assisting the presentation of the longitudinal members A and B. In the upper part of the frame 121, a carriage 122, mounted on rails 123, supports on its rear face grippers 124 which are adjustable in position and spacing relative to the general axis Xof the machine. The grippers 124 are coupled to jacks. On the front side of the carriage 122, also in the axis of the members A and B, support guides 125 for the barrels 126 are mounted to be adjustable in position. The barrels 126 are moreover guided by symmetrical supports 125a which are in alignment with the support guides 125, but mounted on a fixed side 127, situated inside the drum 102 and near to the wire guide support 105. The barrels 126 have circular grooves appropriately located along their length and intended to receive catches 128, 128a of the guides 125, 125a. The carriage 122 is movable by the jack 129 via a lever 130. The lever 130 is connected to the frame 121 by a connecting rod 131 and to the carriage by a connecting rod 132. The stroke of the jack 129 is limited by an abutment 133, which is adjustable and which constitutesa device for the adjustment of the pitch. In the case of an irregular pitch, as shown in the drawing, a second abutment 134 isused. The passage of the abutment 133 to the abutment 134 is effected by means of the jack 135.

Symmetric with the control lever 130 of the carriage is a lever 136, connected to a lower frame 137 by a connecting rod 138, and coupled to a bar 139 which is connected to the lever 136 by a connecting rod 140. There can'be imparted to the bar 139, which is guided in the frame 137 by a sleeve 141, the same movement as the carriage 122 and it is intended to control the outer members, such as welding supports, cutting tools or calibrating member, in such a way that the reinforcement is always aligned in its forwards movement.

It will be noted that barrels 126 are provided for pushing the transverse members at the time of their winding around the longitudinal members A, B. In

order to do this, the guides 125, a, surround the barrels 126 and are coupled to the catches 128, 128a for controlling the gripping, the catches themselves being coupled to jacks in a similar manner to the grippers 124.

The control device comprises, in this particular embodiment, a shaft with adjustable cams similar to the control device 25 of the machine of FIG. 1 which ensures synchronism with the rotation of the. ring. This camshaft or control device controls: a four-way valve for controlling the grippers 124; a four-way valve per barrel, the jacks of the catches 128 and 128a being mounted in opposition, the first being necessarily open, when the second is closed and vice versa according to whether the barrel remains stationary or moves forward; a valve for the movable abutment and a valve for the jack 129. Moreover, the cam shaft is provided with members for the control of associated elements, such as the welding members and cutting tools.

The wire guide 11 l pivoted at 112 is additionally able to abut against the longitudinal members, or between the latter, by means of a lever integral with the shaft 112 pivoting the support 105, this lever 150 being coupled to ramps of cams 151 advantageously arranged on the fixed support 127.

The operation of the above described machine for the manufacture of reinforcements is explained hereafter.

Firstly, with the machine of FIG. 1, it will be noted that the wire c arranged in a ring in the drum 15, coiled in the same direction as the wire on the section to be obtained, is drawn from inside the coil, passing through the wire guide 14, and is hooked to one of the bars, for example the bar a. The wire guide 14 and the drum 15 are rotated. The wire hooked to the bar a is stretched between the latter and the wire guide 14. During the rotation, the barrel 18 and the carriage 21 displace in the direction of the drum 15, causing forward movement of the bars a and b. The barrel of the bar a being gripped in the carriage 21 by an amount corresponding to the pitch of the winding. The taut wire comes in contact with the bar b and is applied against the latter by the wire guide 14.

As the rotation continues, the wire is wound around the bar b. During the first half of th bending, the barrel 18 and the carriage 21 return to their initial position, the bar a being'released from the gripper system 24. During the second half of the bending, the carriages 21 and 21a and the barrel 18a in which the bar b is gripped by means of the gripper system 24a, displace towards the drum 15 by the same amount as above, thus causing forward movement of the bars b and a, only the barrel 18a being in action, and so on. The displacement of the movable assemblies is regulated with a view to obtaining the desired pitch of the winding, by any convenient means, for example by abutments. The reinforcement thus manufactured continues in length and, as it advances step by step, the welding devices 27 and 27a come into action.

For a complete rotation of the wire guide 14, the following cycle is established, the origin being taken with the wire parallel to the plane of the reinforcement: from 0 to 120 bending around the bar a; I from 120 to forward movement of the barrel of the bar a; from 180 to 300 bending around the bar b;

and from 300 to 360, forward movement of the barrel of the bar b. y

The bars pushed by the carriages move forward simultaneously, a single barrel pushing the coiled wire at a given instant.

In a modification of FIG. 1, the wire constituting the transverse members is, initially, specifically wound, in order to be able to be held by the outside of the ring in a cylindrical drum. This arrangement makes it necessary to re-wind the'wire in a can in order to be able to use it, and,-on the other hand, makes it necessary to drive the drum mechanically to avoid the wire winding into a ball.

Moreover this drum with an inner winding is constituted, in fact, by a specialpart. It may be advantageous to eliminate the aforesaid constraints in the use of the machine-and manufacture of the reinforcements. Thus, it may appear advantageous to do away with the necessity of using a special drum with the aim of reducing cost for the manufacture of the machine. But it may still be moreadvantageous to attempt to do away with having to proceed to a special re-winding of the transverse members onto the drum, an internal re-winding which is-long and troublesome. With this idea in mind, it is also desirable as:a modification to be able to use certain bobbins of standardised dimension.

The precise object of thearrangement shown with regard to FIG. 2 is .to propose a machine having all or part of the aforesaidadvantages. This second machine preferably uses wire bobbin 101 of standardised dimension, wound over a large diameter, or re-wound, if these bobbins do not have a large enough hub, on the drum 102, directly onto the machine.

In order to locate bobbins of standardised dimension, the side 108 with bayonet fastening is removed 'andthe guide 109 is folded back around the axis 110 according to the arrow H. In this way, the guide 109 is placed in the axis of the machine and has a transverse dimension less or equal to that of the hub of the bobbins. At the instant of positioning, the reinforcement being manufactured must be cut at C, after positioning of the bobbin, the side 108 being replaced on the drum 102 and the guide 109 being replaced in position for taking the wire above the coil The wire is threaded into the guide 109 as far as the pivoted wire guide 111 according to the axis of the 'return roller 112. The wire having passed .into the rollers of the wire guide at 111 is hooked to the longitudinal member A. The machine then may be 're;started. The ring 104 is then rotated in the direction of the arrow R.

The adjustment of the tension of the spiralled wire S coming from the coil 10] is ensured by action on the brake 114. Thefunction of this brake 114 is to neutralise, .at the time of starting, the inertia of the assembly of the drum 102 relative to the wire guide assembly, in particular'the ring 104.

Now, as regardsthe advancement mechanisms, it will be noted that their control is substantially pneumatic and/or hydraulic. The longitudinal members A and B are taken up in coils on the drums, or in straight bars, and pass into alignment devices with rollers 120, which, in addition to displacing them,.rectify them and immobilise them.

At each angle of the wire S on the members A or B the assembly advances by the movement of the carriage, the members A and B being effectively gripped by the grippers 124. According to the helix section desired, either the barrell'26 of the member A, or the barrel 126 of the memberB pushes the wire S. For this, the guide relative to the member A has its catch 128 open, and the barrel is closedby the catch 1280 in the guidel 25a.whereas the catch 1280 of the guide 125 relative to the member B is engaged in the groove of the corresponding barrel I26 and this barrel is pushed through-the guide 125a relative tothe said member B, the corresponding catch 128a'being open.

The control by the shaft with adjustable cams clearly permits the successive carrying out in sequences of the different stages of forwardmovement.

Moreover, if the wire S is'too hard or too elastic, and must, therefore be held against the longitudinal elements A, B, lever is provided to effect this.

Naturally, the above described reinforcement arrangements with two longitudinal members are valid for any other arrangement with three or four longitudinal members or even more, such as those shown with regard to FIGS. 6and 7; a reinforcement with three members is'shown in FIG. 6 while a reinforcement with four members arranged in a trapezium is shown in FIG. 7. The winding pitch of the transverse membersaround the longitudinal members-may be any desired value and is regulated by acting on the forward-movement of the said transverse members during the bending operations. Thus the reinforcement shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 may be obtained.

For the manufacture of reinforcement sections comprising several longitudinal members, it is sufficient to provide a corresponding number of assemblies; drums for the longitudinal members, alignment devices, carriagesand barrels.

Whichever the machine adopted, it will chiefly be noted that the arrangement of the drum coacial to the axis of the reinforcements manufactured, permits a substantial reduction in the size of the drum and correspondingly, a reduction in the weight and drive power of the machine, which are both very advantageous.

As regards more particularly the machine of FIGS. 2 and 3, over and above the operatingadvantages already mentioned, it should be noted that the possibility of using bobbins of standardised dimension facilitates the avoidance of using a special bobbin,- such as that required by the drum with internal winding shown in FIG. 1.

But, even if the machine does not facilitate the positioning of standardised commercial bobbins, it is still very easy to rotate the drum by 'means'of the pulley G and an auxiliary drive motor, in the direction of wind ing on the drum of the wire from any coil. Thus, one

obtains a great flexibility of use of the machine.

It maybe noted that the arrangements for're-winding, on the drum itself, avoid having to displace the welding devices and the cutting tools, which is necessary at the time of loading standardised bobbins.

It should be also noted that, whatever the construction adopted, the longitudinal members do not rotate about the axis of the reinforcement, which makes it possible to. manufacture the reinforcement continuously and in very great lengths.

Moreover, in order to obtain a curved reinforcement, it is sufficient to give the grippers of one or more carriages a greater travel, which has the effect of giving one or more longitudinal members a greater forward movement. The radius of curvature'of the reinforcements depends on the separation of the corresponding advances and on the distance between centres of the longitudinal members.

Moreover, if it appears necessary to provide a second transverse member, it is sufficient to provide a second drum assembly after the welding machine of the first assembly. In this second assembly, the barrels are replaced by passages, this assembly rotating in the same direction or in the opposite direction to the first assembly and in synchronism with the latter. The machine may in addition be provided with any associated device, such as a special de-carbonising device, an automatic shearing machine, a device for receiving, curving or winding, or any means for forming the reinforcements.

The machine may also be used to manufacture loose members, without welded bars, constituted by a wire coiled according to a chosen section and pitch, this replacing the longitudinal members by smooth pins locked in the barrels.

What is claimed is:

l. A machine for the automatic and continuous manufacture of reinforcements having a plurality of longitudinal members connected by transverse members, which comprises:

a. a frame;

b. a drum rotatably mounted on said frame operative to initially store said transverse members and further operative to permit withdrawing of said transverse members;

c. a first rotating member rotatably mounted on said frame;

d. a wire-guide mounted on said first rotating member, said first rotating member with said wire guide mounted thereon and said drum being operative to rotate about a common axis;

e. means for drawing off said longitudinal members from a storeiwhere they are initially disposed;

f. means in the vicinity of said drum for moving said longitudinal members in translation parallel to said common axis, said means comprising guide barrels and said translation being correlated with said rotation of said wire-guide and said drum so as to be operative to produce a substantially helical winding of said transverse members about said longitudinal members; 1

. a cylindrical bearing integral with said frame, said drum and said first rotating member with said wire? guide mounted thereon being rotatably mounted coaxial to said cylindrical bearing, said cylindrical bearing comprising guide barrels for guiding said longitudinal member; and

h. a replaceable bobbin having a hub and capable of being externally wound while off said machine,said bobbin being positioned on said drum to rotate therewith about said bearing, said wire guide being moveable relative to said axis such that the transverse dimension of said wire guide is smaller than the diameter of said hub to thereby permit positioning of said bobbin and removing of said bobbin from said drum.

2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said wire guide is pivotally mounted on said rotating member.

3. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said transverse members comprise wire, and wherein additional rotational drive means are provided for coupling to said drum for winding said wire directly on said drum, the direction of rotation corresponding to the initial winding on said drum of said wire.

4. A machine according to claim 3, wherein said additional rotational drive means comprises a pulley integral with said drum and coupled by a belt to an auxiliary drive motor.

5. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said drum is loosely mounted to rotate on said frame, the moveable member of a brake being integral with said drum and being located opposite the fixed member of said brake which is mounted integral with said frame. 

1. A machine for the automatic and continuous manufacture of reinforcements having a plurality of longitudinal members connected by transverse members, which comprises: a. a frame; b. a drum rotatably mounted on said frame operative to initially store said transverse members and further operative to permit withdrawing of said transverse members; c. a first rotating member rotatably mounted on said frame; d. a wire-guide mounted on said first rotating member, said first rotating member with said wire guide mounted thereon and said drum being operative to rotate about a common axis; e. means for drawing off said longitudinal members from a store where they are initially disposed; f. means in the vicinity of said drum for moving said longitudinal members in translation parallel to said common axis, said means comprising guide barrels and said translation being correlated with said rotation of said wire-guide and said drum so as to be operative to produce a substantially helical Winding of said transverse members about said longitudinal members; g. a cylindrical bearing integral with said frame, said drum and said first rotating member with said wire-guide mounted thereon being rotatably mounted coaxial to said cylindrical bearing, said cylindrical bearing comprising guide barrels for guiding said longitudinal member; and h. a replaceable bobbin having a hub and capable of being externally wound while off said machine, said bobbin being positioned on said drum to rotate therewith about said bearing, said wire guide being moveable relative to said axis such that the transverse dimension of said wire guide is smaller than the diameter of said hub to thereby permit positioning of said bobbin and removing of said bobbin from said drum.
 2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said wire guide is pivotally mounted on said rotating member.
 3. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said transverse members comprise wire, and wherein additional rotational drive means are provided for coupling to said drum for winding said wire directly on said drum, the direction of rotation corresponding to the initial winding on said drum of said wire.
 4. A machine according to claim 3, wherein said additional rotational drive means comprises a pulley integral with said drum and coupled by a belt to an auxiliary drive motor.
 5. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said drum is loosely mounted to rotate on said frame, the moveable member of a brake being integral with said drum and being located opposite the fixed member of said brake which is mounted integral with said frame. 